Introduction

The most part of the application shown here is generated by a code generator called Zachary. The generated code is in Clipper language, which is -- thanks to xHarbour -- can now be compiled into a 32-bit Windows application. As for converting it to GUI, I use gtwvw, the simplest method available in xHarbour. Being generated by an appgen, the application has a consistent coding style. This makes it easy to apply gtwvw approach globally, with minimal changes to the original Clipper code.

The gtwvw approach doesn't require the dialogs to be rewritten in 'Windows way'. In fact I still use Zachary to add new modules to my application, and I still do the coding of any required additional code in 'Clipper way'. The difference is, I am now using xHarbour + gtwvw, instead of Clipper compiler. You can see how the application looks on the screenshots below.

As a last note, remember that the appearance of an application is only the surface. Another important aspect of this application, being built by xHarbour, is that it is now a true 32-bit Windows application. A quick list of the benefits of being a true Windows application is that it can:

• utilize all the available memory, no more DOS boundaries
• use bigger sized variables, no more limits such as 4096 array elements, 64K data segment, etc.
• use any kind of printer installed on Windows, including network printer, Fax printer, PDF printer, etc.
• use Windows resources easily, eg. clipboard, common dialogs, etc
• colaborate with other Windows application, eg. Excel, Internet Explorer, etc.
• ...

budyanto (at) centrin.net.id

Opening Screen

Menu, Toolbars, Status Bar

ZBrowse

Edit Screen

ZPOP Dialog

Multiselect POP